Under the Needle
by Dinn4
Summary: Ronan sees a beautiful boy and, like the gay disaster he is, immediately goes to get a tattoo from him. Tattoo AU. Cameos include Noah, Declan, and Matthew.
1. Chapter 1

Ronan was bored. There was nothing to do in this shithole town Gansey had dragged him to. He was supposed to be touring the college Gansey currently attended, something that Ronan was not interested in. Touring it or attending it. But it was better than spending another weekend with his brothers, or more specifically, his older one. They were on the outs as they say. They were always fighting, but last weekend's shit show took the fucking cake. It had come to blows, again, and it would come to that again if Ronan was forced to spend any amount of time with Declan right now.

Matthew was with Declan now, trying to convince him to smooth things over with Ronan. But things were never smooth with Ronan.

Ronan took a long pull from his beer that he had gotten from some upperclassmen that were sitting in lawn chairs outside a frat house. He had discreetly dipped out of the school tour while Gansey was in class, tired of listening to the droning of the student guide. Ronan ran into the frat boys while making his escape and had a few beers with them, until they had ran out of beer and then Ronan split. Now he was walking down a road with lots of shops targeted at students, selling university clothes, hats, books. Nothing interesting to him in the slightest. He turned down an alleyway, planning to loop around back to the room he was sharing with Gansey for the weekend and pass out until Gansey came back from his classes.

He immediately noticed someone else in the alley. He was leaning against a wall, hands in his pockets and staring up into the sky. The guy was a much shorter Ronan, but maybe it was just because he was slouching. Baggy clothes hung off him, but Ronan could see that his arms were leanly muscled. His brown hair was a mess, sticking up in the front like he'd been running his hand through it repeatedly. His blue eyes matched the sky they were looking at and there were a smattering of freckles over his cheeks and nose.

He was beautiful.

Ronan rarely thought anything was beautiful, because too few things were in his world. But this guy was. Ronan thought that if going here would mean he would get to look at something as beautiful as this boy, he would gladly fork over any amount from his exceedingly large trust fund.

He began to walk over to the other boy, but just as he reached speaking distance, the boy turned around and walked back through a door Ronan had not previously noticed. He tried to follow him through the door but it was locked. A sign above the handle declared it an employee only space. Ronan huffed a little and went around the side of the building to go through the front door.

A metallic smell and buzzing sound greeted him and a small tinkling bell announced him. A girl hopped down from her perch on a display case featuring all different kinds of body jewelry and came to greet him.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked. She was at least half a foot shorter than Ronan, but she had a large presence that would have intimidated him, had he been a lesser man. Her nose glittered with a delicate flower shaped piece of metal and all the way up both of her ears, silver flashed in the sun.

Ronan looked around the shop. There was one other boy in the room, but he was pale and blonde, with a tattoo near his hairline on the right side, the opposite of the one Ronan was looking for. He was tattooing what looked like an infinity sign on a girl's lower back. Her friend, who had a bandage on the inside of her wrist, held the girl's hand. There was no sign of the beautiful boy, though Ronan was sure this was the shop he had seen him go into.

"Hello?" the short girl asked, snapping her fingers in Ronan's face. He leaned back and smacked her hand away.

"I'm here for a tattoo," he said confidently, despite the fact that he had only decided this in the last ten seconds.

"Okay, let me get Adam for you and he can get you a quote." She made her way to the back of the shop and Ronan crossed his fingers that Adam was the person he was looking for. He had just guessed that the boy was a tattoo artist, he had no idea if there was another guy in the back that would come out to meet him. He hadn't seen any tattoos or even piercings on the guy, nothing that would make Ronan think he was a tattoo artist. For all he knew, the boy was just a piercer or maybe the usual front desk worker. But worst case, he could get a quote for a tattoo he didn't plan on getting and never come back.

He had already resigned himself to doing this when the girl came back, the beautiful boy, who apparently was Adam, trailing behind her.

The first thing Ronan noticed was that Adam was not actually as short as he'd thought, coming up to about his nose. The second things he noticed were his _hands_. One held a sketchbook probably full of designs. Ronan could imagine that delicate hand meticulously drawing client's tattoos, while the other ran through his hair like it was now, in just the way Ronan had imagined it had in the alleyway.

Adam extended his right hand and Ronan realized that he was trying to introduce himself while Ronan was drowning in thoughts of those hands running over him.

He cleared his throat. "What did you say?"

"I said I'm Adam and I can help you out today. What are you looking to get?"

"Oh, I'm Ronan. Ronan Lynch." He shook Adam's outstretched hand. He was surprised at how rough it felt compared to how delicate it looked. There were callouses on the palm and along the inside of his thumb, probably from constantly holding the tattoo needle. "I want a pretty extensive back piece done." Anything to keep those hands on his body as long as humanly possible.

"Okay, follow me back to my station," he beckoned Ronan across the room to the other tattoo chair.

Ronan started after him, so quickly that he tripped over the edge of the rug that covered the front desk area. "Fuck," he threw his hands out instinctively and caught Adam's shoulder with one and brushed his back with the other. He quickly withdrew his arms. "Fuck, sorry."

"You're good."

They sat down, Adam on a rolling stool and Ronan in the tattoo chair. Adam rolled up close to Ronan and plopped the sketchbook on his knees between them. He tapped his pencil on the book twice quickly.

"So what is your idea for this tattoo?" Adam asked.

It was a good question. "I have no idea."

"Oh. Okay. Well I can definitely help you think tank some ideas and draw it up over the weekend-"

"No. I want it tonight," Ronan said quickly.

Adam's eyebrows raised. "You want to start a large tattoo that you have no ideas for tonight?"

"No, I want to finish a large tattoo that I have no ideas for tonight."

Adam's eyebrows went impossibly further up. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Have you ever gotten a tattoo before?"

"Yes. I mean no. I mean, what? Why not?" Ronan stumbled over the words. Adam's eyes narrowed a little.

"A tattoo virgin? And you want to start off with a giant back piece all in one sitting?"

"Yes."

"Are you drunk?"

"What makes you think that?" Ronan asked indignantly.

"Well, you did trip over a rug and got confused when I asked you a yes or no question," Adam responded, unamused. "You're also slurring your words a little."

"I had a couple drinks but I'm good to-"

"Sorry, but we don't serve drunk people." Adam interrupted. "That leads to regrets. If you're serious about this tattoo come back tomorrow when you're sober with some ideas."

"But I-"

"Good bye." Adam got up and went back to one of the back rooms.

Ronan looked around and saw the short girl back on top of her display case. When he made eye contact she just shrugged and went back to flipping through a magazine.

Fine. Ronan would come back. He'd think of ideas. Fuck, he'd even give in to Gansey's constant harping to come to this college if it meant having Adam.

As a tattoo artist, of course.


	2. Chapter 2

"Get up."

Ronan's body rocked back and forth with the shaking of the bed underneath him. He rolled over onto his stomach, groaning.

"Lynch. Get up."

He opened one eye, looking groggily at Gansey.

"Jesus, what happened to you?" Gansey was standing over Ronan, kicking the bed frame. Once he confirmed that Ronan was awake he went over to the desk and started looking for something in the mess of books and loose papers that seemed to have no organizational system to speak of.

"Nothing. I ran into a couple frat bros after the tour, they gave me some beer." He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, stretching out on the mattress.

"Enough to make you pass out for the night, apparently. Did you even stay for the whole tour?" Gansey asked, though he phrased it in a way that made Ronan think he already knew the answer.

"No, I ditched the end. That guide was shit, by the way. Boring as all fuck. I went walking around town instead of coming back here to wait for you. Saw some shops." Ronan sat up suddenly. "Oh, fuck," he muttered, throwing the blankets off himself.

"What? What's wrong?" Gansey looked around, searching for what could have upset Ronan now.

The beautiful boy's face flashed through Ronan's mind. Adam. "I need some paper."

"For what?" Gansey asked, but he started opening his backpack, looking for a spare piece for Ronan.

"And a pen. Or a pencil, whatever you have. I have to write down some tattoo ideas, quickly."

Gansey looked up from his backpack. He pushed his glasses up and squinted at Ronan as though he could read a further explanation from Ronan's face. "I beg your pardon?"

"A tattoo. I need ideas for one and I need to write them down." Ronan snapped his fingers twice, reaching for the pad of paper he could see peeking out from the bag. Gansey let him take it and handed him a pencil from behind his ear.

"You're getting a tattoo?"

"Yup."

"Declan will have a heart attack."

"That's about half the point of getting it," Ronan looked up long enough to give Gansey a devilish smile. There was no reason for Gansey to know the real reason for Ronan's very sudden and very permanent decision.

Gansey shook his head but knew better than to fight Ronan on anything having to do with Declan at this moment, which is exactly why Ronan let him think that was all it was about.

Ronan scribbled several things down in quick succession. Then he looked back over his list and ripped it out of the notebook. None of these were anything that Ronan actually wanted on his body forever. He crumpled the paper and threw it in the general direction of Gansey's trash can.

"Problem?" Gansey asked.

"Yeah, there's a fucking problem. I have no idea what would make for a good back tattoo," Ronan gripped the pencil tightly, nearly snapping it. He couldn't go back to the shop without a single idea.

"All right, well why don't you think of something important to you? Then you can take that general idea to an artist and have a conversation about whether it would make for a decent tattoo design."

Something important to Ronan. What was important to Ronan? He didn't get attached to anything that could become unattached to him. Matthew and Gansey gave him the only glimpses of unconditional love he got. But he wasn't very well about to get them tattooed on him.

But maybe it didn't have to be something external. What did Ronan live for?

There was only one thing.

Ronan started scribbling frantically. "You're a fucking genius, Gansey." He folded up the paper and shoved it roughly in his pocket. Then he stood up and made to leave, but Gansey grabbed his arm as he passed.

"Wait let me just get my shoes-"

"What do you need to come for?"

"I want to check that this is a reputable tattoo shop. You have been known to make rash decisions occasionally." Ronan rolled his eyes. "What's the name of this place anyway?" Gansey pulled out his phone.

"It's- uh..." Ronan scrambled for the name, but he hadn't been paying attention when he followed Adam into the shop. He hadn't even noticed it was a tattoo parlor at first.

"You don't even know the name? Did you just walk by it and decide right then to get a tattoo?" Gansey asked exasperatedly.

"Yeah, pretty much. I remember the way to it though. Are you coming or not?"

It was Gansey's turn to roll his eyes, but he pulled his boat shoes on and grabbed the key to his room, locking it behind them.

It was a quick ten minute walk to the parlor, just off official campus grounds.

"Cabeswater Tattoo," Gansey said, looking at the sign hanging on the door. It was very obvious, but Ronan had been more than a little distracted the last time he was here.

They walked into the shop, the small bell chiming their arrival. The same girl from last time was once again atop the display case, this time smacking gum. She looked up when the boys came in, raising one eyebrow when she saw Ronan, who just now noticed that he was in the same clothes as yesterday, and the other one followed when she took in Gansey in all his khaki glory. He gave her an awkward little wave. She blew a large bubble and popped it with a sharp snap.

"You're back," she said to Ronan. "We had a pool going."

"Who's we?" Ronan asked, walking farther into the shop.

The girl gestured between herself and the pale boy leaning back in the chair at his own station who had been tattooing the tramp stamp yesterday. "Noah and me. He bet you wouldn't but I had a feeling you'd back here today," she looked smug.

"Well you were right. Congratulations. Where's Adam?" Ronan asked impatiently. The girl's smug face grew.

"Back here," came a voice from the employee only room Adam had escaped to yesterday. He came out, wiping his hands on a piece of cloth. "Oh, you're back."

"Yes, we have established that I have, in fact, come back. Can we move on now?" Ronan said irritably.

Adam shrugged and gestured him over to his station again. Gansey stayed near the display case, inspecting the different kinds of body jewelry it held and asking the girl what each one was for. Ronan could see his face pale when she explained what a Prince Albert piercing was.

Adam rolled the stool back up next to the tattoo chair, which Ronan took a seat in once again, this time letting his legs hang over the side so that his knees brushed Adam's. Ronan took small satisfaction in this minor contact but didn't let it show. Instead, he got down to business.

"I have an idea for my tattoo."

"You're still set on getting this whole back piece?" Adam didn't sound surprised, just tired.

"I am," Ronan answered firmly, leaving no room for arguments.

"All right, whatever you want, man. What's your idea?" he asked.

"Well, it's more of a vague idea than anything solid."

"I'm sure I can work with whatever you decided," Adam said, flipping to a clean sheet in his sketchbook.

"Dreams."

"Dreams?"

"Dreams," Ronan repeated confidently. Adam stared at him in way that screamed exhaustion, like Ronan was just another in a long line of nonsensical occurrences he had experienced that day. "I told you it was a vague idea."

"And I told you I could work with whatever you gave me," Adam responded. His fingers were already starting to carve shadows into the fresh page. His other hand found its way into his hair, propping his head up. "Tell me what you think when you think of dreams."

Ronan handed him the list he had made back in Gansey's room.

"Orphan Girl, raven, and night horrors? "

Ronan grunted, chewing on the leather bands he always kept on his wrists.

"Okay, who is Orphan Girl?" Adam asked.

"This girl that appears in my dreams sometimes. She kind of guides me I guess, " Ronan said, releasing the bands from his teeth.

"I see. And the night horrors?"

"They're violent things. Black. Tall. They all have claws and a beak."

"_Unguibus et rostro,_" Adam said under his breath.

"What?" Ronan was sure he must have heard the other boy wrong. There was no way this boy with the delicate hands and the Southern drawl was currently speaking latin to him.

"Nothing," Adam said, putting the list in between two pages of his sketchbook and went back to plotting out the dark design. "So do you want me to draw up each of things for you or do you want me to try to incorporate all of them into one design?"

"Actually I was thinking it's a vague concept, maybe a vague design would be better," Ronan reasoned.

"Makes sense to me, " Adam nodded. The lines were beginning to come together to make a somewhat cohesive picture. It wasn't even close to done but there was some solid line work laid out. "I can work with that. Let me draw something up and you can tell me if you like it or if you want me to change anything. You're welcome to hang around the shop or you can leave a number and I can call when-"

"I'll stick around here, thanks," Ronan interrupted quickly. "My friend seems interested in... the jewelry." Ronan looked back at Gansey, who now had the attention of both the short girl and pale boy named Noah. Adam was already focused back on his drawing by the time Ronan looked back.

He got up and went over to stand next to Gansey, who was lecturing the other two on the importance of ley lines.

"They're intersecting lines of energy that connect many significant sacred sites. They kind of intersect like this." He took a piece of paper and a pencil off the front desk and drew a slightly rounded triangle with lines crossed. Ronan rolled his eyes. Of course Gansey had already roped them into a conversation about ley lines and Glendower.

"That's badass," Noah said, totally enraptured.

"I think so, too," Gansey said, beaming.

"You should get those lines tattooed on you," the girl said, snapping her gum again.

"Oh that would be even more badass," Noah said. "Good thinking, Blue."

"I don't know about that," Gansey chuckled nervously.

"You should," Ronan said, trying to hold in his laughter. "It would be _so_ badass."

"I can do it now," Noah offered. "You've got time while Adam draws up his design. I can use your drawing to make a stencil real quick."

"I don't know, I'm not sure where I would even get them," Gansey said doubtfully.

The girl, apparently named Blue, blew a big bubble and let it pop. "Over your heart, because you let them guide you."

"You're an unstoppable good idea machine today," Noah said, pointing at Blue.

"Well I actually don't hate that," Gansey rubbed his hand over his chest.

Ronan eyes were wide with surprise. He hadn't thought Gansey would actually go through with getting a tattoo, but it looked like he was seriously considering it.

"Hell yeah, man," Noah reached out for a high five. Gansey smiled slightly and slapped Noah's hand. "Let me go make the stencil and you can see if you like it. If you don't, don't get it. But if you do, you let me put it on you today."

"I suppose that isn't the worst idea," Gansey acquiesced. "Okay, go draw it up or whatever you have to do."

Holy shit. Gansey was going to get a tattoo. Or think about getting a tattoo. Whatever. Gansey wasn't one to rush into big decisions like this. Ronan was about to ask him what the hell, but then he saw how Gansey was looking at Blue. So he was trying to impress a girl. Well who was Ronan to stop him? Here he was getting a full back piece just to see a beautiful boy and feel his delicate hands. Ronan decided to let Gansey do whatever the fuck he wanted. Not that Gansey listened to him all that often, anyway.

Ronan slung himself haphazardly into Noah's tattoo chair and tried not to stare across the room at Adam, who was deep into his sketchbook. His hand was still in his hair, propping up his head. Instead, Ronan watched Gansey and Blue, who were still talking about the tattoo.

"All right, let's get that shirt off," Noah said, holding a stencil sheet by the tip.

Gansey stripped it off and threw it at Ronan, who caught it just before it flopped in his face. Ronan noticed that Blue was trying not to stare at Gansey's chest and just barely failing. Gansey flexed slightly and Ronan fought not to roll his eyes again.

Noah carefully placed the stencil over Gansey's heart and pulled it off gently, leaving a purple outline of the lines Gansey had drawn.

Gansey turned to look at it in the mirror. "It looks good," Blue offered from behind him.

"Yeah it does," Noah agreed.

"Ronan?" Gansey turned back to him so he could check it out.

"Fuck yeah, Gansey. You should get it," Ronan said, reaching his fist out for him to bump.

"Yeah?" he looked in the mirror again. "I do rather like it."

"'I do rather like it'," Ronan mimicked in a higher pitched voice.

"Ronan," Gansey said. Then, "Yes. Yeah, put it on me."

"Yes!" Noah high fived Blue. The girl was so short she had to jump to reach Noah's hand.

Ronan got up so Gansey could take his place in the tattoo chair. Blue came to stand near Ronan while Noah prepped the station.

"Okay, you ready?" Noah asked, the needle poised over Gansey's heart.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Gansey replied.

Noah smiled and began tracing the stencil with black ink.

"This doesn't hurt as bad as I thought," Gansey said after a minute.

"Oh just wait, it builds," Blue said around her gum.

They waited in silence for a couple minutes, the only sound in the shop the buzzing of the needle. Slowly, Gansey's eyebrows started pulling down, his face going from relaxed to uncomfortable.

"It's not as bad as I thought," he repeated. "But it definitely hurts more than when it started."

Blue laughed. "Yeah, the constant irritation makes it get worse over time. Lucky for you this is a small tattoo so it won't take as long. You however," Blue pointed at Ronan, "will have it a lot worse with a whole back tattoo."

Ronan bared his teeth at her in a savage smile. "I think I can handle it." She shrugged.

"All right, we're done," Noah announced. "Go check it out in the mirror."

Gansey got up and looked at his angry red chest. "It looks amazing, Noah. Thank you so much. How much do I owe you?"

"Ronan," Adam called from the other side of the shop. Ronan immediately headed over, leaving Gansey to talk money with Noah.

"What's up?" Ronan asked, trying to be nonchalant, though in reality he was about to hyperventilate at the sound of his name coming out of Adam's mouth.

"I finished the first design, I wanted your thoughts on it," Adam said.

"You're already finished? Jesus fuck," Ronan swore. It had only been about half an hour.

Adam's lips curled up in a self-conscious smile. Ronan nearly swore again. He had thought it impossible for Adam to be any more beautiful until he saw that smile.

"You allowed me quite a bit of artistic freedom so I really got into it. You want to check it out?" He offered Ronan the sketchbook.

"Holy fuck, this is awesome." Ronan reverently touched the page. The design was abstract, dark and sharp looking. Feathers floated around it, and a single claw would hook over the back of his neck above his collar. Adam had perfectly captured the general feel of Ronan's dreams without even having to ask.

"You like it?"

"It's perfect."

"Okay, great. We have to talk logistics though."

"Logistics?" Ronan asked, confused. What was there besides putting it on and tattooing it?

"It'll take probably about twenty hours total, and most likely cost around four thousand. Is that going to work for you?"

Fuck, twenty hours. Twenty hours of Adam, of his beautiful face and delicate hands and being touched by him. Ronan didn't know how he was going to bear twenty hours of Adam tattooing him.

Adam cleared his throat, and Ronan realized he had just been standing there, staring at him.

"Oh, uh, yeah, yeah that's fine. Money isn't a problem. So how do we do this? Start today and hopefully finish it tomorrow or what?"

Adam laughed out loud, a deep and musical sound.

"What are you laughing at?" Ronan demanded.

"We can't do this all in two sittings," Adam chuckled. "We could probably do it in four hour increments, if you can handle it."

"It's going to be five sittings?"

"Most likely, if you think you can get through the pain."

"I think I'll be able to handle it," Ronan scoffed.

"Then yeah, five sittings, and they'll have to be about two weeks apart," Adam said, standing up and stretching out his long limbs.

"Two weeks? _Each_?" Ronan asked incredulously.

"Maybe three, it depends on how fast you heal," Adam shrugged.

"I'm only supposed to be here for the weekend."

"I'm afraid that's just how it is. I won't do a sloppy rush job," he said firmly.

Ronan thought for a minute. Five sittings would take about ten to fifteen weeks. Almost a whole semester.

Fuck.

"I'll work it out," he said finally.

"Great. I'll blow up the design and get a stencil. Take your shirt off and wait by my station," Adam said over his shoulder, walking to the back room Noah had disappeared into earlier.

Ronan did as he was told. As he was waiting, Gansey wandered back over to stand next to him.

"So you're getting the tattoo?" he asked.

"Part of it, apparently," Ronan grunted.

"You're going to need more sessions?"

"Yup."

"But you leave tomorrow."

"No."

"No? No what?"

"I'm not leaving tomorrow."

"You're not?"

"Nope, I'm enrolling."


	3. Chapter 3

Ronan let out a slow breath as the pain of the needle built and moved over his spine.

"You good? Need a break?" Adam asked.

"Keep going," Ronan commanded.

Adam wiped away excess ink from Ronan's back before leaning over and continuing the line he had been tracing. He wished Ronan would just give in and ask for a break because Adam could use one as well. His muscles were stiff from sitting in this position for so long. He longed to stretch and work out the kinks in his joints, but if Ronan could sit through three and a half hours of unrelenting needle poking, Adam could at least suffer some stiffness.

"It looks good on you, Ronan," Gansey said, coming to inspect Adam's work. Adam had thought 'Gansey' was a weird name, but it was the only one he would give. He had paid for his own tattoo in cash that he had on hand (who just carries that much cash on them?) so Adam couldn't even ask Noah what Gansey's first name was.

Ronan grunted, keeping his mouth shut. Adam could tell that he was grinding his teeth and tried to speed up a little, but there wasn't much he could do without sacrificing the quality of the art. He wiped away some more splattered ink and continued.

Finally, after another forty-five minutes, Adam finished the section he had outlined for this session.

"Sorry that went a little longer than expected," Adam apologized while stripping off his black latex gloves and tossing them in the near by trash can.

"It's fine," Ronan said, standing and stretching. "How's it look, Gansey?"

"Positively perfect," Gansey answered. "It's flawless."

Adam retrieved a handheld mirror from the front desk and brought it to Ronan so he could check it out in the reflection of the big mirror hanging on the wall.

"You're right," Ronan said after staring in the mirror for a long minute. He looked Adam in the eyes. "Flawless."

For some reason Adam couldn't quite understand, hearing that from Ronan made Adam's face heat slightly and he was sure his ears were pink. Probably because Ronan seemed like the type that was hard to please. Succeeding in that made Adam flush with pride.

He cleared his throat. "I'm glad you like it." He beckoned Ronan over to the front desk so he could pay. Ronan was already pulling out his wallet. "Let's call it six hundred."

Ronan looked up. "You said four thousand for the whole thing. I owe you eight."

Adam shrugged. "Six will cover it." He had no idea why he was fighting to get _less_ than he quoted Ronan. Usually he had to argue with clients when it ended up costing more than originally quoted.

Ronan shrugged. "What's your last name?"

"Parrish. Two R's."

He wrote out a check for six hundred and handed it to Adam.

"All right, let's schedule your next appointment for two weeks from now and we'll see how you're healing. If it looks good, we'll start the next session," Adam said, skipping through the day planner to find an empty slot for him. "Looks like I can do Thursday or Saturday that week."

"Let's do the Saturday, I don't know what my class schedule will look like yet," Ronan said. He looked almost angry about it.

"Okay, let's do noon then?"

"Works for me."

"Let me get you bandaged up. Keep it on for hour or two and then wash it with antibacterial fragrance free soap. Use Aquafor on it three times a day for three days. After that you can just use any fragrance free lotion on it. Three times every day," Adam instructed.

"Three times daily," Ronan nodded. He let Adam dress his tattoo and then pulled his shirt over his chest.

"Yup, you got it," Adam said. "Feel free to call or drop by if you have any questions."

"See you in two weeks then," Ronan replied as he Gansey started to leave. As they passed the front desk Ronan reached into his pocket. "One more thing."

Adam raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

Ronan pulled out a huge wad of money. Who were these rich kids?

He counted out a couple of bills and slapped them on the desk. "Your tip." Then he left.

Adam went to the counter. Four hundred dollar bills. "What the fuck?" he asked Noah and Blue, holding up the money for them to see.

Blue laughed. "Someone has a crush."

"I wasn't going to say anything, but yeah, definitely," Noah chuckled. Adam shook his head, but his ears turned pink in embarrassment.

"Whatever," Adam mumbled. "Help me cash out for the day."

….

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Ronan asked.

"You tipped him sixty six percent," Gansey said.

"No, he under charged me. I owed him two hundred extra and then I tipped him twenty five."

"Seems like there was more to that," Gansey said in a sing song voice.

"Shut the fuck up before I throttle you." Ronan reached to scratch the back of his neck.

"Hey, don't do that." Gansey smacked his hand away. "Noah said no scratching. It'll mess up the lines."

"Whatever," Ronan snapped. "Just take me to the admissions office."

"They're closed on weekends. But we can go on Monday," Gansey said gleefully. He hadn't asked why Ronan had suddenly decided to attend Gansey's university, but Ronan got the feeling he already knew.

"Fine. I have to tell Matthew I'm signing up." Gansey gestured at Ronan's phone as answer. He pulled it out and sighed. Then he dialed Matthew's number.

He answered on the second ring. "Ronan! Thank God you called. Declan was starting to get worried about you."

Ronan barked out a laugh. "Declan isn't worried about me. He's worried about the family name."

"He is worried about you," Matthew insisted.

"Did you tell him where I was?"

"Nope," Matthew sounded proud. "I didn't tell him anything. He didn't call Gansey did he?"

"No." That was proof enough of Matthew's silence. "I have to tell you something."

"Do I have to keep it secret from Declan again? It was so hard this time," Matthew complained.

"No, actually, he should know too."

"Ooookay," Matthew drew the word out slowly.

"I'm applying to Gansey's school."

"Really? You're going to college?"

"Yup."

"THAT'S SO AMAZING!" Matthew yelled into the phone. Ronan pulled the phone away from his ear until it seemed safe to bring it back.

He could hear Declan in the background. "What are you yelling about, Matthew?"

"RONAN IS GOING TO COLLEGE," Matthew screamed. Ronan had to take his ear away again.

Ronan waited until Matthew and Declan were done to talk. "I'm going to talk to admissions on Monday and then I'll be back to pack my shit."

"I'll start for you!"

Ronan chuckled. "Thanks, kid. I'll see you probably Tuesday, maybe Wednesday."

"See you." Matthew hung up.

"They excited?" Gansey asked.

"Matthew is, at least."

"I'm sure Declan is too."

"Yeah, probably. Happy I'm not bumming around the farms," Ronan said, referencing his family home.

"Happy you're doing well for yourself," Gansey amended.

"Signing up for college is not equal to doing well."

"That's true, but I really think this will be good for you."

"Well don't get too attached to the idea. It's just one sememster. If I even get in," Ronan said.

"They'll let you in," Gansey said confidently. Ronan knew that meant Gansey was planning on bribing whoever he had to in order to get him in. He would let Gansey, because for the first time in a long time, Ronan actually wanted something, in a real way. Not necessarily to go to this school, but to see Adam. He could have just visited Gansey every couple weeks, but Ronan wanted to stay close to Adam.

_I might as well get something productive done while I'm waiting around_, he told himself.

Even he didn't believe that.


	4. Chapter 4

Ronan sighed heavily and leaned his head against the wall behind his chair. This was taking forever.

Gansey was currently in the Dean of Admissions' office, making Ronan's case for late registration. It was technically still summer semester, which Gansey opted to stay for, because of course he did, but the fall semester started in a week. It was way too late to be registering for classes, let alone applying to the school. Ronan had already had his interview with the dean, where he actually, really tried, possibly for the first time since his father died.

The door finally opened and Gansey and the dean came out. Ronan stood up.

"Welcome to William and Mary, Mr. Lynch. I expect great things from you," the dean said, shaking Ronan's hand.

"Thank you," Ronan said in a rare show of politeness.

"You can normally register for classes online, but since this is a special circumstance and quite late in the year, you'll have to go to the admissions office and have one of the office workers get you registered. If they have any trouble getting you into any classes, tell them to call me directly. You'll be rooming with Mr. Gansey here. As for you...," he turned to Gansey. "Well, I look forward to beginning construction on our new observatory. I will look out for that donation from your father." With that, he returned to his office.

"A whole observatory?" Ronan asked.

"It's very last minute, so yes." Gansey scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Thanks, man. I mean it."

He smiled wearily and held out his fist for a bump. "You're welcome. Let's get you to the admissions office."

….

"This is a full fucking schedule," Ronan complained.

"Of course it is," Gansey said patiently. "You're starting a year late at a prestigious school. You're not going to be able to slack off here."

"Whatever. I'm enrolled. Are you happy now?"

"Are you?" Gansey threw the question back at him.

"No. Now I have to go home and pack." Ronan reached for his back and Gansey smacked his hand away for the millionth time in the last two days.

"I can help you."

"Don't bother, Matthew said he'd start and I'd bet Declan helped. Eager to be rid of me." Gansey shook his head but didn't argue the point.

"It's no trouble, if we both drive we'll only have to take one trip." Ronan couldn't argue with that. "So do you want a real tour of the campus now that you know where your classes are going to be?" Gansey asked, just barely hiding his excitement.

"I actually have to swing by Cabeswater," Ronan said. "Maybe some other time."

"Oh? What business do you have there?" Gansey raised his eyebrows.

"I have a question."

"What's your question?"

"I have to ask him about itching the tattoo. If there's anything I can use to lessen the itch," Ronan said, thinking on his feet.

"You couldn't just call?" Gansey asked, smiling.

"I lost the card," Ronan shrugged. Then, to get Gansey off his back, "You can come with."

Gansey quickly stopped his teasing and sped up his gait. "I can point out the buildings you'll be in on the way."

They reached the shop half an hour later, mostly because Gansey often got lost in his explanations, and the school and its history was no exception. Ronan practically dragged Gansey off the campus.

When they walked in, they were greeted by a very enthusiastic Noah and a decidedly unenthusiastic Blue. "You guys are back! Caught the tattoo fever, Gansey?" Noah asked.

Gansey laughed. "Maybe a little. But we're not here for another tattoo."

"Oh," Noah deflated a little. "Did one of you have a question?"

"I did," Ronan said. "Is Adam around?"

"Yeah, of course. Let me go get him for you." He scampered away to the back rooms. A minute later Ronan and Gansey heard a sing song voice say, "Adam, your boyfriend is here," followed by a thump and a loud "Ow!". Gansey and Blue grinned at each other and looked at Ronan, who was trying not to show any embarrassment but could feel his face flushing a bit.

Adam came out from the back. Noah followed, pouting and rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, Ronan, what's up?" Ronan noticed that Adam's ears were slightly pink.

"Not much, just had a question for you," he said nonchalantly.

"Shoot."

"This thing itches like a motherfucker," Ronan jerked his thumb at his back. "Is there something I can put on it? I know you said certain things couldn't go on it."

Adam's eyebrows turned down and then one slowly raised up in silent question. Ronan suddenly felt stupid for coming in instead of just calling like Gansey suggested."Oh. Yeah, you should try to avoid putting much other than the Aquafor and fragrance free lotion on it, but if it's really bad you can try some one percent hydrocortizone on it. That can help with the swelling too. Sorry, I should've told you before you left the other day."

"Don't sweat it." Ronan looked at the other three, who were all swiveling their heads back and forth like they were watching a tennis match. He rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess that's it."

"Okay. Is there a reason you didn't just call?" Adam asked, and Ronan could imagine it as sounding hopeful, but likely that wasn't the case.

Gansey smiled widely at Ronan as if to say, _I told you so_.

"I lost the card," Ronan repeated the excuse.

"Oh, okay. Here's a new one." He leaned over to the front desk and pulled a card out of its metal holder.

"Thanks, but I don't really use the phone."

"What?"

"I have a cell but I don't use it ever."

"Then why do you have one?"

Ronan was becoming frustrated. "My brothers insist on me carrying one."

"Okay. Couldn't you have just looked it up on the internet?" Adam pushed. Three heads pivoted back to Ronan.

Heat rushed to his face. "I... don't trust the internet," he said lamely. Adam just stared at him. "I wanted to get advice from my actual artist. You did say I could come in if I had a question."

"Okay I guess?" Adam's voice lilted up, making it a question.

"Yeah. So thanks." Ronan stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. He knew he should leave, but he didn't want to. Plus, Gansey had come all this way with him to see Blue.

"So what do you do here?" Ronan asked Blue, almost rudely. He hated all these eyes on him.

"I'm the piercer," she answered, prickling at his tone.

"I've actually been thinking about getting a piercing," Ronan said.

"Oh? What do you want done?" she asked, interested now.

"I was thinking my tongue." Ronan's eyes flicked to Adam and back. Adam was still staring at him, but now his finger was tapping quickly on the front desk.

"We can do that today-"

Just then, the bell tinkled, announcing another customer. Ronan could almost hear Adam's sigh of relief.

"How can I-"

"I've got it!" Noah cut him off. Adam gave Noah a look, but didn't stop him. Noah took the girl over to his station.

"We can definitely do your tongue today, if you want it," Blue continued.

"Let's do it," Ronan said. He went to the body jewelry case and picked out a simple black ball tongue ring, then he followed Blue to one of the back rooms that was evidently her own work station.

She snapped on a small pair of black latex gloves and laid out her instruments and the ring.

Gansey came wandering in. "Declan is really going to lose it now."

"Good," Ronan said, sitting on the reclining table.

"These are so bad for your teeth."

Ronan shrugged. Gansey shook his head but stopped arguing.

"Okay, stick your tongue out," Blue instructed. Ronan complied. She marked where the ring would go with a blue marker. "Check it out in the mirror."

Ronan examined the mark with a critical eye. It looked like it was perfectly in the middle to him. He turned to Gansey for confirmation.

"Looks good to me," he said. Ronan hopped back on the table.

Blue used a clamp with a hole for the needle to go through to pull Ronan's tongue out just a little farther. Then she grabbed the needle. "Okay, breathe in." Ronan did. "And out." As Ronan exhaled, she poked the needle through. Ronan's eye twitched, but otherwise didn't show any sign of pain. Blue pulled the ring through the hole and twisted the ball on. "All done. You can go look at it."

Ronan stood up and looked in the mirror once again. The black ball rested squarely in the middle of his tongue. "Looks good. How much do I owe you?"

"Thirty." Ronan pulled out his wallet and handed her four ten dollar bills. Blue mimicked tipping her hat to him and followed him out to the front. "Don't use alcoholic mouthwash or drink any alcohol for at least two weeks, preferably four."

"What?" Ronan stopped in his tracks.

"Alcohol dries out the piercing and can stop it healing properly. You have to wait until it's completely healed before you can drink alcohol." Blue crossed her arms.

"You didn't tell me that before I got it!"

"I kind of figured you would already know not to put alcohol on an open wound," she raised her eyebrows in a silent challenge.

That earned a snort from both Gansey and Adam, who had come over to see the new "wound". Ronan stuck his tongue out at Adam so he could examine it.

"Looks good on you," he nodded.

"Thanks." Ronan rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hey, don't rub the tattoo, you'll wreck the lines!" Adam lunged forward and tore Ronan's hand from his neck. Ronan stared at Adam's hand wrapped around his wrist. Ronan marveled at how his hand felt without the latex glove between their skin. He clicked his new tongue ring against the back of his teeth, something he could feel would become habit.

Adam still hadn't released Ronan's wrist. Heat radiated out from the contact and pooled in Ronan's stomach, speeding his heart rate. Ronan hadn't touched or been touched by Adam without gloves or clothes in the way except when they had shook hands two days ago. He was tempted to slide his hand down to be enveloped by Adam's.

Blue cleared her throat. Adam jumped slightly and released Ronan's wrist. Ronan glared at Blue, who was looking particularly smug.

"Want something?" she asked. Ronan opened his mouth to tell her that he wanted her to mind her own damn business, but then he realized she was talking to Gansey. "We can give you a matching one." She gestured at Ronan.

"I don't think so," Gansey laughed. "It wouldn't look as good on me."

"Oh I don't know about that," she said. Gansey blushed a deep red.

"Are you done? We have to go pack my shit," Ronan said, jabbing Gansey's side with his elbow.

Gansey looked at his watch. "Oh, yeah. Yeah we do. If Matthew really already started, we might be able to make it back by tomorrow."

"God, I hope so. I don't need to deal with Declan longer than one night right now," Ronan rolled his eyes.

"Who's Declan?" Adam asked. Ronan didn't think he was imagining the interest in Adam's voice.

"My brother," Ronan answered. "He's a real dickhead."

Adam laughed. "Family trouble is something I understand."

"Who's the dickhead in your family?"

"My father," Adam said shortly. Ronan wanted to pry a little more, but Adam's face said he wouldn't say any more on the subject.

"Well, we better get going," Gansey said after a minute, breaking the awkward silence.

"Right. Next Saturday, Parrish?" Ronan asked for confirmation.

"See you then," Adam nodded.

Ronan and Gansey left the shop.

"So, a tongue ring, huh?"

"Shut the fuck up, Gansey," Ronan replied.

"To the barns?" Gansey asked.

"Unfortunately."

"I think you're going to like William and Mary."

Adam's face flashed in Ronan's mind. "Yeah, I think I might."


	5. Chapter 5

"Please! Stop!" Matthew begged.

They didn't stop. Ronan threw a punch that landed squarely on Declan's right eye. In return, Declan grabbed Ronan by the back of the neck and slammed his fist into Ronan's face twice. The fabric of Ronan's shirt rubbed searing pain into the back of his neck where the tattoo reached up. His mouth filled with blood. He spit on the ground and hooked his leg around Declan's ankle and brought him down to the ground. He put one foot on either side of Declan's legs, planning to straddle and beat the ever loving shit out him, but then he was hit by a very something very solid that pushed him away from the motherfucker.

"Get off me, Gansey!" Ronan growled. Declan sat up and wiped under his nose, pulling it back to look at the blood gathered on it.

"Stop! We're out of here. Get in the car," he ordered. Ronan shoved away from him and went to sit in the BMW. He threw himself in and slammed the door, crossing his arms like a petulant child. He glared out the window to where Gansey was helping Declan up off the ground. Declan brushed himself off and proceeded to yell at Gansey for several minutes, alternating waving his arms around and pointing at the car Ronan was in. Gansey nodded through the whole thing until Matthew finally pulled Declan inside to clean him up.

Gansey knocked on the driver's side window. Ronan rolled down the window without moving his eyes from where they stared, straight ahead.

Gansey leaned down so his head was next to Ronan's ear. "So."

"So," Ronan mimicked.

"Ronan." Gansey sighed. "At least wait so Matthew can say goodbye."

"Fine."

Ronan got out and leaned against the side of the car while Gansey went to go get Matthew. He just wanted to get out of here. He gently touched the back of his neck, where the tattoo still burned. There was blood on his hand when he pulled it back.

"Fuck," he murmured. Matthew came bounding out of the house.

"Ronan," he said, his eyes already wet.

"Don't, kid."

"No, I'm just going to miss you so much!" He threw himself into Ronan's arms. Ronan patted him on the back gently.

"I'll be back. And you can visit me at college," Ronan promised.

Matthew let go of him. "You'll be here for Thanksgiving right? And Christmas?"

"Of course. It's only a couple hours away."

"Okay," Matthew sniffled, backing away. "Okay. I'll see you soon, right?" Ronan nodded. "I've gotta help Declan. Have fun at college!" He ran off back into the house. Gansey came out a minute later.

"Ready to get the fuck out of here?" Ronan asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Gansey said, pulling out the keys to the Pig. They both got in their cars, which were both packed to bursting with all of Ronan's belongings. Gansey left first and Ronan followed behind in case the Pig broke down again.

They arrived at William and Mary close to two hours later. They parked as close to the dorm rooms as they could. Moving all of Ronan's things took about another hour with the walking they had to do and the elevator they had to take up to their floor.

Gansey sighed when they were finally done. "Ready to unpack?"

"Fuck no. I actually have to head to Cabeswater again," Ronan replied, walking around Gansey.

"Again? You might want to try not being so obvious," Gansey said.

"You're one to talk," Ronan shot back. "But I actually have to go in this time. I need Adam to check if there was any damage to the tattoo in the fight. There was blood, I think Declan ripped the scabs off when he grabbed at my neck." Ronan was also a little worried about the tongue ring having been ripped a little with all the blood in his mouth, but he could always let it heal and get it re-pierced. The tattoo was more permanent.

"Turn," Gansey commanded. Ronan obeyed and let Gansey pull down his shirt collar from the back. "Oh damn. You really should have him look at it, actually."

"Fuck. I knew it. That worthless jackoff wrecked my tattoo." Ronan was livid.

"You don't know that yet," Gansey said firmly. "Just go get it checked out."

"You coming?" Ronan asked.

Gansey beamed. "Yes."

They made the quick trip to the tattoo shop, choosing to drive this time to get there faster, as though it might help save Ronan's tattoo.

The bell chimed as they walked in. Blue smiled when she saw them, then dropped it when she actually took them in. She straightened up from where she had been leaning against the wall near Noah's station. Adam stood up from his station and came to join the group when he saw Ronan's face, his own filled with worry. Ronan could fly away at the idea that Adam Parrish, the most beautiful boy Ronan had ever seen, was worried about him.

"Another question for Adam?" Noah asked suggestively, not looking up from his sketchbook. When he did he gasped. Apparently Declan had left a mark.

"Yeah, and one for you too, Blue," Ronan inclined his head toward her.

Her eyebrows pulled down. "What's up?"

"I need you to check my piercing."

"Why? What happened to you?" she asked.

"I got in a fight. My mouth bled and I want to be sure it wasn't from the piercing. I'm not sure if maybe it ripped a little.

Blue's face immediately became serious. "Open up." Ronan stuck his tongue out for her to look. She pulled him down to her level by his shoulders. "Whoever you fought really did a number on your mouth," she said, inspecting him. "But it doesn't look like there was any serious damage to the piercing. It is red and angry so you definitely pulled it a little bit but I don't see any reason it shouldn't heal right. If it migrates, let me know and we can take it out and let it heal then pierce it again."

Ronan straightened up. "That's good. I think the tattoo might've gotten messed up though."

"What?" Adam strode over to Ronan in two long steps and turned him around. He pulled the collar of Ronan's shirt down like Gansey had earlier. "Oh," he breathed.

"Is it bad?" Ronan asked, expecting the worst.

"All the scabs ripped off the top, but I think we can save it. I'll bandage it again and you'll have to go back to the Aquafor for a couple days. Once the shading and everything is done, it shouldn't be noticeable even if there are some wonky lines," Adam said, letting the shirt go. "Come back to my station and take your shirt off."

Ronan stripped it off. Adam pulled on some gloves and started getting out the bandage and surgical tape. Ronan waited in front of the large mirror on the wall, trying to get a good look at his back. What he could see was as angry and red as it had been the day it was done. Ronan sighed.

"I really think it'll be fine, some people pick at the scabs and it doesn't mess up the lines too bad," Gansey said next to Ronan.

"Most people pick them, not violently rip them off with cotton fabric," Ronan said angrily.

"So who did you pick a fight with?" Blue asked.

"Why are you so sure it was me that picked the fight?" Ronan raised his eyebrows.

"Just the vibe I get from you," she chuckled.

"Well you'd be wrong," Ronan said. "It was my brother this time."

"The dickhead?" Adam asked, returning with his arms full of the supplies he needed. "What'd he do now?"

"He was being a condescending fucker about my tattoo and piercing. I told him he was a disappointment to our father. He hit me. So it goes."

"It sounds like your thing was a little worse than his thing," Adam said mildly, putting Aquafor on Ronan's back. Ronan fought back a groan that threatened to escape as Adam rubbed his back gently.

"Maybe. But I'm just paraphrasing. He still deserved it." Gansey looked like he wanted to argue but he bit his tongue for Ronan's sake.

Adam laughed and taped the bandage on Ronan's back. "I imagine so. All dickheads do."

"What about your dickhead? Ever fight with him?" Ronan asked.

Blue's face screwed up in a cringe and Noah looked paler than he normally did. The both looked at Adam.

But Adam just shrugged. "Something like that."

"What do you mean some- oh. Oh." Ronan internally cringed. "Shit, Parrish."

Adam shrugged again. "It's over now." He pulled the gloves off and tossed them in the trash. "You're done, but you can hang around the shop for an hour so I can check it when it's time to take the bandage off if you want."

"Yeah, I've got time," Ronan answered. "Gansey can get that matching tongue ring you were talking about."

Gansey chuckled nervously. "I don't think so."

As Blue and Noah attempted to sway Gansey into getting any kind of piercing, Ronan walked over to Adam's station, where Adam was putting away the after care supplies.

"Hey, about earlier-" Ronan started.

"Don't worry about it," Adam cut him off. "It was a long time ago."

"Do you ever talk to him?"

Adam seemed surprised by Ronan's genuine interest. "No, I don't. I haven't spoken since I moved out my senior year of high school. I ended up in the hospital once and after that I never went back."

"Jesus, the hospital?"

"Yeah, I had some bruised and broken ribs."

Ronan swore. "What a bastard."

"Yeah, but I moved out, saved enough money from tattooing and mechanic work to open my own shop." Ronan paused to admire Adam's work ethic. Beautiful boy and a hard worker to boot. _And _he knew about cars. Adam was exactly Ronan's type, if he had one at all.

"I'm surprised you don't have any tattoos, owning a shop and all," Ronan said, trying to subtly probe for more information from Adam.

It worked. "I have tattoos, you just can't see them." Fuck. He shouldn't have asked. Ronan was going to go crazy imagining all the designs Adam could have hidden underneath his clothes. "Your eye is looking real bad," Adam said, taking the attention off himself.

Ronan reached up and touched his left eye, feeling for swelling. It was a little, but not enough to really impair his vision. "It's fine. My dad definitely taught us how to leave a mark though."

"I can see that." Adam looked over Ronan's shoulder. "Also I think the wolves have descended upon Gansey.

Ronan looked over at the other three. "I better help him."

Ronan shooed Blue and Noah away from Gansey. They spent the rest of the hour comparing the flash tattoos that were hanging around the shop. There weren't the usual dragons and tribal and barbed wire that usually littered the walls of tattoo parlors. Instead there were ponds with lily pads and and tiny stick and poke ideas and fairies caring for flowers. Slightly more detail and much more original.

"Ronan," Adam called from his station, where he had been engrossed in his sketchbook. Ronan savored the way his name sounded in Adam's mouth.

"Been an hour?" Ronan asked.

"Yup, time to take the bandage off." Ronan walked over and took his shirt off again, giving Adam access to his back. "It looks better already. It looks like scabs are reforming. I think you'll actually be okay."

"Perfect. How many days of Aquafor?

"I think you'll be fine with two. We'll keep the appointment next Saturday and check how it's healing, but hopefully this won't mess with our time line. Try not to get into any more fights," Adam joked.

"I'll try but I'm not going to promise anything," Ronan laughed.

"The best I can hope for I suppose."

They stood there awkwardly for a minute.

"Well," Ronan cleared his throat, "we better get going, I have to unpack all my shit."

"Sounds good, I'll see you that Saturday." Adam said.

"I'll be there." Ronan looked back to Gansey, who was leaning back against the wall with Blue. "Gansey," he called.

"Okay, I guess we have to go." Gansey bumped his shoulder against Blue, meaning he nearly hit her in head since she was so much shorter than him.

"Saturday," both Gansey and Ronan said as they exited the shop.

The Pig broke down half way back to campus and they had to walk all the way back to get Ronan's BMW to jump start it, but even that combined with the fight couldn't bring Ronan down now.

He was walking on air.


	6. Chapter 6

The alarm went off at eleven, but Ronan had been awake for most of the night. He had difficulty sleeping even when he didn't have something to look forward to the next day. And he definitely had something to look forward to.

He had made through his first week of classes, not having skipped a single one, despite the fact that most nights he was up with Gansey making a scale model of the William and Mary campus out of cereal boxes and glue. It took up a large portion of the floor in their dorm room, but it made Gansey happy and gave Ronan something to do when he couldn't sleep.

Now it was finally Saturday, the second Saturday after his last tattoo appointment. He hadn't gone to Cabeswater since the day of the fight, and he felt like he was going through withdrawal. The tattoo looked like it had mostly healed even after the fight ripped off his scabs. He hoped this meant Adam would tattoo the next part of it today instead of waiting another week. He didn't think he could wait that long.

Ronan threw off the blankets and got dressed, nearly tripping over the mini campus as he pulled on his jeans. Gansey woke up when Ronan swore and grabbed at the closet door for balance. "What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"Eleven," Ronan said, pulling a tank top over his head.

Gansey sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Your appointment is in an hour, right?"

"Yeah. You coming with?"

"Yes, but I need something to eat first."

"We can hit up the dining hall and get something to go." Ronan was already pulling on his shoes.

Gansey scrambled to get his own clothes on. "We have an hour, there's no need to rush. It's ten minutes away walking."

"I like to be on time," Ronan lied. Gansey knew this was a lie, and Ronan knew he knew. In the many years he and Gansey had known each other, Ronan had never shown the slightest inclination to get anywhere on a schedule that wasn't his own. Which was further proved by Ronan's need to get to the shop as soon as was socially acceptable when you had an appointment.

They walked to the dining hall after Gansey finished getting dressed, Gansey grabbing a muffin and Ronan a single black coffee.

"You're getting tattooed today, you have to eat something," Gansey protested. Ronan grabbed the muffin out of Gansey's hand and took a large bite. He handed it back to Gansey.

"Thanks," Ronan said around a mouthful of muffin.

"Ronan," Gansey sighed. He shoved the muffin back into Ronan's hands and went to get himself another one.

They made it to the shop half an hour before the appointment. Blue was in Noah's chair this time, one arm over her eyes and the other stretched out to give Noah access to her wrist. Noah leaned over her, totally engrossed in what he was doing. When Ronan and Gansey stepped through the door, she lifted her arm just enough to look at them before covering her eyes again. "He's in the back," she said. Gansey to go watch her get tattooed as if he just naturally gravitated toward her at all times.

Ronan went to Adam's station to wait. On the desk that held all his tattoo supplies laid his sketchbook. Ronan picked it up and flicked through it. It became abundantly clear that Adam was behind most of the flash on the wall. Many of the designs were there in between what must have been specifically for clients. Ronan found the original drawing of his own tattoo and studied it. It would take another four sessions at minimum to finish all of it, they had only done half of the outlining so far. Ronan flipped to the next page after his tattoo. There was a drawing of two boys in an alley way, one slouching against a wall and another walking by. Ronan brought it closer to his face to see the details better when Adam came back from the back room.

"You're early," Adam said, stepping back into the front room. He stopped suddenly. "What are you doing?"

"Just looking at some of your other designs," Ronan said, flipping back to the page that had Ronan's tattoo on it. "They're really good."

"Thanks," Adam said, taking the notebook back, "but I don't allow clients to see other clients' tattoos unless I've been given permission."

"Oh." Ronan felt no shame at having looked through Adam's drawings, but he didn't want Adam to be upset with him. "I'm sorry."

"What did you see?" Adam asked, starting to set up the supplies for Ronan's tattoo without looking at him.

"A lot of the flash you have up. A couple random designs. I was mostly looking at the finished version of my tattoo." Ronan didn't mention the last drawing he had seen.

"I could've shown you the finished product," Adam said, giving him a sideways glance.

"Can I see it then?"

"I thought that's what you were looking at already," Adam raised an eyebrow at him.

"It was, but I didn't get to finish looking at it," Ronan said glibly. Adam looked suspicious of him, but handed the book back. "It really looks...," Ronan struggled for a word. "Perfect," he said, looking back up at Adam.

The tips of Adam's ears turned pink. Ronan caught himself wishing he could whisper dirty things into his ears while they were that pink. He shook it off.

"Thanks," Adam said. He took the book and went back to taking the supplies out of the cupboards.

Ronan rocked back on his heels, unsure of what to do. Eventually he just sat down in the tattoo chair to wait for Adam. Gansey left Blue's side to come see Ronan. "Your girlfriend done with her tattoo?" Ronan asked.

"She's not my girlfriend," Gansey said, but he was blushing again. "But yes, she's done. They're wrapping it now."

"You should just ask her out," Ronan said.

"Shhhh shut up," Gansey whisper-yelled. Ronan raised his eyebrows. "I'm going to okay? I just have to figure out how."

"Just ask her to dinner."

"It's not that simple."

"It really is." Ronan was quickly getting bored of this conversation. His eyes wandered back to Adam.

"If it's so easy then why don't you just ask Adam out?" Gansey was still whispering. Ronan whipped his around. Gansey looked self-satisfied.

"I will if you do," Ronan issued the challenge. Gansey's smug look dropped. "That's what I thought."

"No, I will. I'll ask her out," he said. Then he marched over to where Blue was admiring her new tattoo. Shit. He hadn't thought Gansey would take the bait. Blue looked up at him and smiled. After some murmured words Ronan couldn't hear, her smile grew bigger. She nodded and pulled her phone from her back pocket to put Gansey's number in. Gansey turned slightly towards Ronan and gave him a thumbs up behind his side.

"Fuck," Ronan muttered.

"What?" Adam brought over the ink and was starting to set up the gun.

"Nothing." He thought about the picture of the boys in the alleyway that Adam had in his sketchbook. Maybe Adam was just as obsessed with Ronan as Ronan was with him. He decided to would ask Adam out after today's session so he could leave if Adam said no.

"You ready?" Adam asked, distracting him from his fantasy of Adam saying yes to more than dinner tomorrow night.

"Yeah." Ronan took his shirt off and let Adam look at it before he placed the stencil.

"It looks like it healed quite nicely, even after the fight with the dickhead," Adam said, poking at different parts of his back as if to test how well the skin had absorbed the ink. Shivers ran through Ronan's body. "Are you cold? We can turn down the AC if you need."

"No, I'm fine," Ronan said. He sat backwards in the chair again so Adam would have access to his back. Adam placed the stencil on the bottom half of Ronan's back.

"Do you want to check it in the mirror?"

"No, I trust you to get it straight."

"The only thing I can get straight," Adam said under his breath.

Ronan about had a heart attack. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." Adam turned the tattoo machine on. "All right, let's get started then."

Four hours later Ronan stood up again and stretched his arms and legs, working out the kinks in his joints. He had gone another session without asking for a break. His back was screaming, but he honestly hadn't wanted a break from Adam's hands.

"How much do I owe you this time?" Ronan asked, reaching in his pocket for his wallet.

"Eight," Adam said, a little stiffer than he probably meant it to come out. Ronan knew it was probably because what he had pulled the last time.

"Here," he handed him a black card this time. Adam ran it and tilted the reader toward him so he could tip and sign. He tipped him another twenty five percent and took his card back. When do you want me back?"

"What days work for you?"

"It needs to be a weekend because I have a full class schedule this semester."

"Let's say same time two weeks from now?" Adam started flipping through the agenda to mark Ronan down.

"Actually, I was thinking maybe tomorrow night at seven?" Ronan drummed his fingers on the front desk.

Adam sighed. "I thought I was clear that you need time to heal in between sessions."

"I didn't mean for the tattoo," Ronan said. "I was thinking that Italian place over down the block."

"Oh." Adam's eyes were wide. Then his mouth and eyebrows turned down. "Oh. I'm sorry. I can't."

Ronan's heart sank. Of course this beautiful, delicate boy wouldn't be interested in someone as hard and difficult as Ronan. "No problem. I'll see you in two weeks." He turned and beckoned Gansey to leave with him.

"Wait, Ronan." Ronan stopped and pivoted back to Adam. "It's not like that. I mean, that is I just can't. It's just a bad idea."

"I got it, Parrish, we're good."

"No, I don't mean because of you. It's just a rule at the shop that we don't date clients," Adam finally articulated.

"Oh, okay. Well maybe Noah can finish the tat instead-"

"Absolutely not, I'm your artist," Adam said firmly. Ronan raised his eyebrows and Adam's sudden outburst seem to surprise even him. The confidence wilted away back to uncertain self-consciousness. "I just mean that I started it, I should finish it. But you could always try asking me again after we're done with your tattoo."

"That's at least six weeks," Ronan complained.

"You'll just have to wait." Adam shrugged.

"Will you say yes?"

"I guess you'll know in six weeks."


	7. Chapter 7

Six weeks. These six weeks were going to kill Adam. Ronan had left disappointed but looking somehow satisfied, after "accidentally" brushing Adam's hand when he walked by to leave.

Blue wouldn't shut up after Adam had told her and Noah. "We can go on a double date!"

"I really don't think Ronan is a double date person," he had told her.

"I bet he would for you."

"I really don't think I am a double date person."

Blue had laughed at that. Adam could feel his muscles pulling into a smile without his permission. A boy had just asked him out. A savagely handsome and infuriatingly teasing boy. For the first time, he hated the shop rule about dating. Adam hadn't dated since Blue and hadn't really wanted to. Blue had come up with the idea after they had broken up so that neither had to watch the other dating other people up close and personal. But that had been when they had first broken up and everything had been raw and painful. It wasn't like that any more, but the rule still stood for professional reasons.

It didn't help that Ronan took every opportunity to come to the shop. Have a question about sun exposure? He was there. Might have accidentally picked off a scab while scratching his tattoo when he wasn't supposed to be? He was there. Gansey wanted to see Blue? He was there. There was a reason for nearly every day, despite Ronan's supposedly full class load. Either Ronan was incredibly smart, or he was ignoring his classwork completely. Either was a likely answer.

The most interesting day was the time Ronan and Gansey had brought Ronan's brother, Matthew, to the shop. He had just turned eighteen and wanted to get a tattoo or piercing "just like his big brother".Gansey had talked him out of it by saying that Ronan's older brother, the dickhead, wouldn't approve. Ronan had immediately approved when Gansey brought the dickhead up. Instead, they settled on an industrial piercing with a silver bar. Ronan had gotten a matching black one.

Adam couldn't stand how cute it was watching Ronan interact with his adorable younger brother. But moreover, he couldn't stand how hot Ronan was with his new piercings and dark tattoo hooking out of the collar of his tank tops. It was going to end Adam.

"Just break the rule this one time," Blue encouraged him in a whisper when she caught Adam watching Ronan intently. He looked away swiftly before Ronan could catch him, too. While Gansey and Ronan talked tattoos, Matthew was busy leaning over Noah's sketchbook, looking for tattoo ideas for when it was his time to go to college. Noah couldn't take his eyes off the personification of sunlight in front of him."Really, I don't mind," she said.

"It's not about you minding." Blue made a small, offended sounding noise. "Not like that. You know I care about how you feel. It's just about professionalism. Reputable shop owners don't date clients."

"I think you're being too uptight about this. It's not like you're going to fuck and chuck a bunch of clients while working on them. This guy really likes you, and I think you really like him," Blue reasoned.

Adam could feel heat rising to his ears. He would never admit it to Blue, but he really did like Ronan. The more he came in, the more he got to know Ronan, the more he fell for him. His sharp edges, the brutal way he smiled, the way he was constantly finding reasons to touch Adam, which never failed to send a wave of heat through him.

And it didn't help that Ronan was getting braver as Adam consistently didn't stop him. Perhaps encouraged was a better term for it. Giving him a fist bump, letting him put his hand on Adam's lower back as he passed, allowing him to twine their fingers together after a high five. It was like fire was burning through Adam's veins that he never noticed until Ronan soothed it with his touch.

"You cool, Parrish?" Ronan called from across the shop.

Adam had been staring again. He tried to cover it up.

"Just wondering how the tattoo is healing up. Let me see it?" he asked nonchalantly.

Ronan raised his eyebrows, but complied, coming over to Adam's station and stripping off his shirt.

Adam took a moment to admire Ronan's build. He got an eyeful of Ronan's arms daily because of the tank tops, but now he could admire Ronan's body with his art on it. It was no where near done, they still had three sessions of shading to do, but it already suited Ronan. He had access to Ronan's back every couple weeks, but he was usually so engrossed in the tattooing that he didn't have time to enjoy it. He ran his fingers gently over the bottom half of the tattoo that they had done in the last session, as though he was feeling for dry skin and scabs when really he was just relishing the feel of Ronan's skin beneath his.

Ronan made a sound that was almost sinful. Adam pulled his hand away quickly.

"Get a room," Matthew yelled from Noah's tattoo chair. Blue, Noah, and Gansey laughed. Ronan flipped them off.

"I wish," he muttered.

Adam was sure his ears were completely red. "Six weeks." But he was reminding himself more than Ronan.


	8. Chapter 8

"I swear four more weeks is going to kill me."

"I think that's an exaggeration," Gansey said, crossing the last crosswalk near Cabeswater. They had just gotten back that morning from visiting Matthew and therefore Declan as well. They had avoided another fight- barely- but Ronan was still on edge from it. He and Gansey made it back just in time for the appointment, but had decided to walk it so Ronan could get some of his excess energy out before he had to see Adam, which would only key him up more.

"It's not," Ronan insisted. "Adam Parrish is going to kill me."

"I hope you have your will sorted then."

"Yeah, Declan gets shit. You and Matthew split everything."

Gansey laughed. "While I appreciate that, I don't think Adam Parrish will kill you. You've gotten through six weeks, you can get through four more."

"Whatever. How's it going with Blue?" Ronan asked so he wouldn't have to think about Adam Parrish and his beautifully infuriating self.

"Really good, I believe. I really like her," his face melted into one of adoration.

"What the fuck?" Ronan said suddenly.

"What?" Gansey looked surprised. "I don't think that's unreasonable."

"Not you. Parrish," Ronan said, looking around Gansey down the alley way next to the shop.

Adam Parrish was the unreasonable one. It wasn't reasonable how hot Adam looked right at that moment, leaning against the wall as he had the day Ronan saw him for the first time. One hand was in his pocket and the other one was raising a cigarette to his mouth. His cheeks hollowed out as he sucked in a breath and brought the cigarette back down, releasing a curl of smoke that wrapped itself around his chin and neck. Ronan was captivated for a moment, watching the way the smoke surrounded Adam the way he wished to. Then he was walking down the alley way.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ronan demanded.

"Taking a smoke break," Adam was so startled that he answered truthfully instead of coming up with a sarcastic quip.

"You smoke?"

"Oh." Adam's face relaxed. "You here to lecture me? If so, you should know that I am attempting to quit."

"No one has any right to look as positively sinful as you do right now," he murmured in Adam's ear, one arm braced against the wall next to Adam's head. He leaned back to watch as Adam's whole face turned bright red, not just his ears this time.

"What do you plan on doing about it?" Adam asked, taking another drag from his cigarette and releasing it slowly in Ronan's face. Ronan breathed in the smoke from Adam's mouth and let out a tiny puff of it back. Adam's eyelids hung heavily, his body arching slightly off the wall.

"Absolutely... nothing." Ronan pushed off the wall, much to Adam's clear dismay. "Four more weeks, right?" he asked. "Meet you inside." He turned on his heel and marched around the corner to the shop's entrance.

Gansey had already gone inside rather than watch Ronan's flirting and was hanging with Noah and Blue. Ronan waited with them for Adam to finish his smoke break. When Adam finally did come back in, he looked furious. Ronan shot him a slight smile, which was returned with a middle finger. Ronan's smile got bigger.

Adam set up the tattoo station while Ronan and Blue talked gauges. Adam called him over when he was ready. "Strip," he commanded.

Ronan raised his eyebrows but slowly took off his shirt, maintaining eye contact with Adam for as long as possible. Adam huffed a little but didn't dare take his eyes off Ronan. When the shirt was out of the way, Adam turned Ronan by the hips, his index fingers and thumbs rubbing on the skin just above Ronan's jeans. Then he ran the tips of his fingers over the top part of the tattoo, starting at the top and working slowly down the expanse of Ronan's back, burning heat blooming out of every contact point. Ronan shuddered but didn't stop him.

Adam cleared his throat. "Looks like it's healing on schedule. Let's get the second part of the shading done."

….

Three hours into the tattoo, Ronan finally cracked and asked for a break after Adam informed him that they were only a little more than half way done. It was nearing closing time but Adam agreed to stay past to finish up the section. Ronan let out a low groan as he stood up slowly. Blue was cashing out the register while Adam went for another smoke break. Ronan was tempted to follow him, but Gansey caught his elbow.

"Hey, I'm going home with Blue."

Ronan raised his eyebrows. "You're ditching me?"

Gansey shrugged helplessly. "Do you think you can make it back without me? I can stay if you need me."

"Nah, you're good, man. Go get laid."

"Ronan," but he was blushing.

"Later," Ronan called as Blue reached for Gansey's hand and led him out.

When Adam finally came back in, it was just Ronan and Noah left. "Blue cashed out for the day," Noah said, putting the last of his equipment away. "Do you need me to stick around?"

"I can close up by myself, you get out of here," Adam tried for nonchalance and failed by the slightest margin. His eyes were bouncing back and forth between Noah and Ronan's half dressed form.

"Cool, I'll see you tomorrow," Noah high fived Adam on the way out. "You too, I'm sure, Ronan."

Ronan flipped him off but Noah just laughed and went out the front door, flipping the sign to closed as he went. Then Adam and Ronan were alone.

It struck Ronan that he actually hadn't spent much time with Adam alone. They'd had conversations just between them, but they had never actually been alone except in the alleyway earlier. And that had gone a very interesting route. Ronan had no idea what to expect now.

Adam cleared his throat and sat back down in his rolling stool. "You ready to get back to it?"

"Yeah," Ronan said, even though his back was still screaming.

"You sure you're good?"

"Yeah, it's cool."

Two hours later, they were done. "It's going to be nine this time," Adam told him, putting down the the tattoo gun.

"That's fine, it'll make up for the low ball on the first session," Ronan said with a wink. Adam rolled his eyes.

"Let me just dress it real quick."

Ronan hissed when the bandage touched his back.

"Shit, sorry," Adam pulled back slightly.

"No, you're fine. The spine just hurts a lot."

"Yeah, the spine is one of the worst pains, or so I've heard."

"So you haven't gotten one on your back?" Adam shook his head. "So where are your tattoos?" Ronan asked cautiously. He didn't want to pry too much into anything Adam wasn't willing to give up.

"I just have the one. It's on my ribs."

"Can I see?" Adam looked self-conscious. "You don't have to if-"

"No, I want to." Adam kept eye contact with Ronan as he slowly lifted his shirt and pulled it over his head. Under the shirt, swirls of colors made themselves known. A cluster of small flowers bloomed over Adam's ribcage. Some were blue and had five petals each, some were pinkish-purple flowers that seemed to fold over themselves. Ronan reached out, as though to touch them, but didn't make contact.

"What are they?"

"Forget-me-nots and snapdragons. They symbolize remembrance and strength. They replaced the bruises my father left," Adam said quietly.

"They're beautiful." Ronan paused. "You're beautiful."

Ronan wasn't quite sure what happened after that, all he knew was that suddenly Adam Parrish was in front of him, hands on his face, pulling him down so they could kiss. The hesitation only lasted a second, and then Ronan was kissing him back.

Ronan kissed Adam until they were gasping for breath, pushing Adam against the front desk, his lips hungry as they roamed down Adam's neck and his hands exploring Adam's body. He ran light finger tips down Adam's ribs, tracing the lines that were permanently etched into his skin.

Adam let out a moan and Ronan took the opportunity to push his tongue into Adam's mouth. Adam melted into Ronan, ever so careful not to touch his back.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Adam murmured.

"I beg to differ," Ronan whispered in his ear.

Adam pulled away slightly and Ronan let him, keeping his hands on Adam's hips but allowing Adam the space he needed. "We can wait four more weeks."

"I really don't think I can," Ronan said, stepping forward once more to nibble on Adam's neck.

"It looks like I'm going to have to be the voice of reason in this relationship," Adam sighed.

"So you admit there's a relationship," Ronan smiled, but he stepped away from Adam completely so they could both put their shirts back on.

"Don't test me, Lynch."

"Oh I haven't even started yet, Parrish."


	9. Chapter 9

Ronan flopped unceremoniously on his bed. After Adam officially ended the kiss, Ronan had walked Adam back to his apartment nearby. They had kissed once more but Adam didn't let it get too far before slipping into his apartment and closing the door on Ronan. By the time he got back to the dorm he shared with Gansey it was pushing eleven. Gansey was still gone. Ronan rolled over on his stomach and fell asleep waiting for Gansey to come back.

The next morning, Gansey was still gone. Ronan had slept poorly, waking up every time he thought he might have heard the door open. He pulled on his pants and shirt, glad he had a real excuse to go to the shop today. Blue would know where Gansey was, hopefully. More importantly, he could use this reason to see if Adam still felt the same about the kisses last night. He prayed that Adam didn't regret that they happened.

Ronan chose to drive today in order to get there faster. When he got there, he spotted the Pig in front of the shop. So Gansey was here. When Ronan got in the shop, Gansey was leaned against the wall with Blue pressed up against him, her back to his front, both laughing about something. Noah sat across from them, backwards in his tattoo chair. Ronan's eyes skipped over all of them, landing on Adam at his own station, tattooing woman's shoulder. The woman was objectively pretty, long black hair and bright green eyes that Ronan could see even from here.

Ronan could feel jealousy welling up in him and had to stamp it down. Adam was a tattoo artist, this was his job. Of course he would tattoo other people. But Ronan still wished it was him under Adam's hands.

He walked over to Gansey, looking pointedly at Blue and then back up at Gansey, reaching a hand out for a fist bump. Gansey blushed deeply but put his own fist out.

"I knew you'd be by some time today," Blue said.

Ronan shot her a look. "Glad I found you. I was getting worried," Ronan said sarcastically to Gansey. Gansey cleared his throat and squirmed but didn't let go of Blue's hips. "Figured you'd be here."

Blue snorted. "Yeah, that's why you're here."

"Ooooh shit," Noah said, quietly dissolving into giggles.

"That's exactly why I'm here, maggot," Ronan said, but he could feel the muscles of his face pulling into an unwilling smile. She returned it with a large one of her own.

"All right, it's four hundred today, cash or card?" Ronan heard Adam ask the client he had been working on.

"Card. When can I see you next?" the woman asked. When Adam reached to look through his schedule, she grabbed his wrist. Adam jumped slightly and looked at her. Then she slid her hand down to entwine her fingers with his. "I don't mean for a tattoo." Adam looked uncomfortable. His eyes bounced desperately between the four of the others. Blue, Gansey, and Noah had all stopped their conversation to watch what was happening and now were looking back and forth between Ronan and Adam with the woman.

Blue began to untangle herself from Gansey to go save him, but Ronan straightened up from where he had been leaning on the wall next to Gansey. Adam looked relieved when he saw him, a look which was promptly replaced with wariness. Wariness was probably justified most of the time when dealing with Ronan.

"Hey, Parrish," Ronan said, coming around the desk to wrap himself around Adam the way Gansey was around Blue. He rested his chin on top of Adam's head and winked at the woman. She quickly pulled her hand out of Adam's. Ronan kept eye contact with the woman while he leaned down to whisper in Adam's ear, "You doing ok?"

Adam shivered at the feel of Ronan's breath in his ear, but nodded. He handed the woman back her card and they scheduled another appointment all while Ronan kept his arms around Adam's waist. The woman hurried out the door and Adam tried to turn around but just got trapped between the desk and Ronan, achingly close to his mouth. Ronan licked his lips and gave Adam his shark smile.

"That was so unprofessional," Adam exclaimed, though he was looking at Ronan's mouth.

"You looked uncomfortable," Ronan said simply, shrugging and taking a half step closer to Adam.

"It's not good for business-" Adam cut off as Ronan leaned down to run his nose along Adam's jaw.

"What isn't good for business?" Ronan asked quietly when Adam didn't continue.

"It's not good for business when you start dry humping the owner in the front room," Blue called. Ronan glared at her but backed away from Adam, who took a deep breath, as though to steady himself.

"We cool, Parrish?" Ronan looked back down at him. Adam nodded. "Who was that chick?"

"A regular, actually. I hope she doesn't feel too uncomfortable to come back." Adam looked pointedly at Ronan.

"She should, she just hit on you," Blue pointed out.

"Yeah, well she's not the first," Adam said cheekily, stepping away from Ronan.

"Speaking of, what happened after we left last night? Noah says you were still tattooing when he got off." She raised one eyebrow the way she had when Ronan had returned that second day with Gansey.

"Nothing. We just finished up some shading and then I clocked out for the night."

Ronan's heart sank. Maybe Adam did regret the brief lapse in control last night. Maybe Ronan was just like the woman that had just left, making Adam uncomfortable with his relentless pursual.

"You hanging around for a while?" Adam asked him.

"Nah, I got some things to do around town," Ronan said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh. Okay." Adam was visibly disappointed. Hope blossomed in Ronan's chest. He leaned in to kiss Ronan on the cheek, to everyone's whoops and cheers. His hand rested on Ronan's back, pulling him slightly closer to him, until, suddenly, it was pushing him back, turning him, and pulling the shirt up to his neck.

"What the fuck?" Ronan asked, wondering what Adam could've needed to see on the tattoo. Oh, fuck, the tattoo.

"Yeah, Lynch, what the fuck?" Adam demanded, his fingers careful with the bandage despite the anger in his voice. "You were supposed to take this off when you got home last night. I specifically reminded you before I closed my door-" More whoops from the others overtook Adam's voice. "Oh, shut up," he reprimanded them. Ronan allowed him to remove the bandage and pull out some Aquaphor to put on the tattoo.

"Sorry, I forgot. I was a little distracted," he muttered the last words so only Adam would hear. Then he pitched himself louder. "And someone didn't come back to the room last night to help me put anything on it anyway."

"Why are you getting a tattoo if you're not even going to take care of it?" Adam asked angrily, the opposite of what his hands felt like, rubbing the Aquaphor in.

"Is it messed up?" Ronan asked worriedly.

"No, but you'll have to let it breathe for a little while. You'll have to skip the shirt today."

Ronan took the shirt all the way off. Adam sighed a little but Ronan couldn't tell if it was admiration or frustration. Possibly both.

"Guess I'm hanging around here for the day, then," Ronan said.

"That's fine," but Adam looked pleased.

"Want me to walk you home again, Parrish?"

Noah wolf whistled.

"Maybe, if you're good," Adam teased.

Fuck Adam Parrish. But also, _fuck Adam Parrish_.


	10. Chapter 10

"Last session, huh?" Matthew asked, bouncing along the sidewalk with Ronan and Gansey.

"Yeah, finally." It was Friday. Ronan had to skip a class to make it on time to the appointment, but it was the last one and Matthew was visiting, so he felt it justified. And he would be free to officially ask Adam out at last.

Since the day Adam had taken the bandage off Ronan's tattoo, Adam had been getting braver in showing his attraction. For three days afterward, Adam had demanded Ronan not wear his shirt in the shop in order to "let the tattoo breathe because I know you're not fucking doing it when you're not here, Lynch" and had then openly stared at Ronan's chest when he wasn't tattooing. In his down time he was often tucked into Ronan's side or playing with his hands, which never failed to stop Ronan's heart. He also checked the tattoo at least every other day to make sure it was healing correctly and to help put lotion on it because "fuck, Ronan, you're letting it dry out, do I need to do everything for you, shithead?". Apparently, "yes, Parrish, that'd actually be really fucking helpful" was not the correct answer to that.

They made it into the shop just as Adam was putting the tattoo gun down. Gansey went straight for Blue and Matthew went to high five Noah. Noah started showing Matthew his new designs he hoped to put on Matthew one day. Adam was working on the woman with the black hair again. When she looked up and saw Ronan, he winked at her again. Adam shot him a look as he rang her up and took her card. She left quietly this time, without another look at Ronan. Blue laughed as the woman went, hiding it in a cough.

"All right, Lynch, you're up," Adam called from his station. Ronan went over to the tattoo chair, already taking his shirt off on his way. Matthew followed him, and Noah followed Matthew. Adam looked over Ronan's tattoo with a critical eye. "Actually, I think we might have to wait another week, it's not healed properly yet."

"What?" Panic shot through Ronan. He didn't think he could take an extra week of this impossible game he and Adam were playing. "No, we're supposed to finish it today. What's wrong with it?"

"Kidding," Adam laughed, Matthew and Noah joining in. Ronan scowled. Adam reached forward and rubbed the frown from between Ronan's eyebrows, smiling hugely.

"Careful, Parrish," Ronan muttered.

"All right, let's get this going," Adam sat down and leaned the chair back so Ronan could lay face down on it, turning his face toward Adam. He started up the machine, starting to shade the bottom third of Ronan's back. After a while, Matthew and Noah grew bored and made their way back to Noah's station to throw tattoo ideas for Matthew back and forth. "They're cute," Adam nodded his head toward the younger boys.

"Yeah, adorable," Ronan said, grinding his teeth as Adam made the first of many passes over his spine. "Noah better not be a heartbreaker, because lately Matthew has already been talking about coming to William and Mary next year."

"Good for him. He wants to be just like his big brother." Ronan rolled his eyes but didn't respond.

As more of the tattoo was filled out and came closer to being done, the others started to come hang around by Ronan to watch as it was finished, occasionally commenting on how well done it was. Adam remained completely focused, never taking his eyes off his work, and Ronan never took his eyes off Adam. He loved watching Adam in his element.

Three and a half hours later, they were finally completely done. "Go check it out in the mirror," Adam said proudly, handing Ronan the hand held mirror. He went over to the large mirror on the wall and looked at the completed tattoo.

"Damn, Parrish," Ronan breathed. It looked exactly as it had in Adam's sketchbook. "It's perfect."

"Thanks," Adam said, snapping off the black latex gloves.

Everyone crowded around Ronan, oohing and aahing over his tattoo. Ronan let them admire it for a minute before shooing them off so he could follow Adam, where he had gone into one of the back rooms.

"Hey, what do I owe you this time?" Ronan asked when he reached the supply room.

"Oh, let's call it eight. The card reader is in the front room." Adam started to go around Ronan, but Ronan stopped him with a hand on his chest. He pulled out his wallet and counted out ten bills, handing them over without looking away from Adam's brilliant blue eyes. Adam folded up and tucked away the bills without bothering to count them.

"So-"

Ronan stopped Adam's words with his mouth on his, the hand that had previously rested on Adam's chest balling up the fabric of his shirt and pulling him closer. Adam broke the kiss first.

"We can't."

"What?" Ronan demanded.

"It hasn't been six weeks. We have to wait until it heals and you're not a client anymore."

Ronan let out a pained groan. "You're fucking with me."

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, I'm fucking with you," Adam said.

Ronan breathed a sigh of relief. "You little shit." Adam laughed, which was cut off by Ronan's mouth on his once more. Adam's arms went around Ronan's neck and Ronan's hands stayed firmly on Adam's hips, pulling him closer, almost bending Adam backwards with how hard he was kissing him. Adam made a small noise that Ronan would've killed just to hear again as Ronan pulled away, only to nip along Adam's jaw line. "You almost had me there," Ronan murmured into his ear. He reached one hand up and tangled his fingers in Adam's hair, tugging it slightly to make Adam look Ronan in the eye before dipping down to suck on his Adam's apple.

Adam pulled away suddenly, a wild look in his eyes. He pulled Ronan by the hand out to the front room. "Blue- cash out. Noah, I need you to close tonight," he said in a clipped tone, dropping the cash Ronan had given him on the front desk. Ronan scrambled to get his shirt on as Adam started pulling him toward the door.

"Matthew, stay with Gansey," Ronan shouted over his shoulder as Adam pulled him from the building, much to everyone's laughter.

Adam half dragged Ronan down the street, in the opposite direction from Ronan's dorm room.

"Where are we going?" Ronan asked.

"My place. You're going to make up for all these weeks of teasing me."

"Anything for you, Parrish."


End file.
